Guild Wars 2 weapon exploit leads to 3,000 perma-bans - Polidicks

[QUOTE][B]Around 3,000 [/B][URL="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/pc/mmo/9397/guild-wars-2/"]Guild Wars 2[/URL][B] perma-bans have been dished out to players who "intentionally and repeatedly" exploited a bug in the game enabling them to craft high level weapons at "one thousandth of their normal price". [/B]According to [URL="http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/08/31/3000-guild-wars-2-players-permanently-banned-for-karma-exploit/"]PC Gamer[/URL] an emergency patch has now closed the loophole, which developer ArenaNet described as the "first example of a widespread exploit in the game".Lead producer Chris Whiteside said on [URL="http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/z44ml/karma_weapons_exploit/"]Reddit[/URL] that, just this once, the studio will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions. [I]We take our community and the integrity of the game very seriously, and want to be clear that intentionally exploiting the game is unacceptable. The players we banned were certainly intentionally and repeatedly exploiting a bug in the game.[/I] [I][I]We intended to send a very clear message that exploiting the game in this way will not be tolerated, and we believe this message now has been well understood.[/I][/I] [I][I][I]We also believe and respect that people make mistakes. With this in mind, we are offering the members of our community who exploited the game a second chance to repair the damage that has been done.[/I][/I][/I] [I][I][I][I]This is a first and final warning. Moving forward, please make sure you that when you see an exploitable part of the game, you report it and do not attempt to benefit from it.[/I][/I][/I] [I][I][I]We said in our 8.9/10 [URL="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/365577/reviews/guild-wars-2-review-the-final-verdict-review/"]Guild Wars 2 review[/URL]: "An entertaining MMO that combats the dreaded grind with smart design. The lack of a monthly subscription fee only sweetens the deal."[/I][/I][/I][/QUOTE][I] Source: [/I][URL]http://www.computerandvideogames.com/365862/guild-wars-2-weapon-exploit-leads-to-3000-perma-bans/[/URL][/I]

[del]Perm bans a little harsh isn't it? jesus.[/del] Ah my bad, I didn't read the full article Even so, I feel as though they should be given some chances first

[quote] just this once, the studio will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions[/quote] Hah, talk about a fucking nice deal.

[I]"just this once, the studio will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions."[/I] Yeah so basicly they just banned those 3000 players for 72 hours. Still, permabanning a player from playing a game he bought is pretty god damn disgusting. I could understand if it was for hacking or something like that, but when it comes to bug exploits, the devs are to blame for letting it happen in the first place.

If there's glitches and exploits, people are going to use them. Always. Scaring people into not wanting to try things simply leads to people not really wanting to play.

[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;37480336][I]"just this once, the studio will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions."[/I] Yeah so basicly they just banned those 3000 players for 72 hours. Still, permabanning a player from playing a game he bought is pretty god damn disgusting. I could understand if it was for hacking or something like that, but when it comes to bug exploits, the devs are to blame for letting it happen in the first place.[/QUOTE] The issue isn't that they were using the exploit, it's that they (presumably) used it over a period of time, completely intentionally. If you don't like things like this you should probably consider reading the ToS of games you purchase.

[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;37480336][I]"just this once, the studio will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions."[/I] Yeah so basicly they just banned those 3000 players for 72 hours. Still, permabanning a player from playing a game he bought is pretty god damn disgusting. I could understand if it was for hacking or something like that, but when it comes to bug exploits, the devs are to blame for letting it happen in the first place.[/QUOTE] Everyone that did this knew exactly what they were doing and letting it continue could of ruined the experience for everyone else since it is a MMO.

Arenanet doesn't spare the banhammer. I'm not really sure what to think of it. At one end, these exploits are basically their own fault. They didn't test their product thoroughly enough. At the other end, when something costs only a thousanth of the effort that it should normally take, you have to be a real asshole to not realize that shit probably isn't working as intended and you should stop making profit off of it.

[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;37480336][I]"just this once, the studio will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions."[/I] Yeah so basicly they just banned those 3000 players for 72 hours. Still, permabanning a player from playing a game he bought is pretty god damn disgusting. I could understand if it was for hacking or something like that, but when it comes to bug exploits, the devs are to blame for letting it happen in the first place.[/QUOTE]What it means though is that those players have to actually acknowledge that they were abusing the system to be let off. [quote]The players we banned were certainly intentionally and repeatedly exploiting a bug in the game.[/quote] Just because there is a bug doesn't mean you are free to abuse it all day long. I guarantee that if someone found a bug in Garry's Mod or TF2 and were abusing it in such a way, they'd do the same thing.

[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;37480336][I]"just this once, the studio will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions."[/I] Yeah so basicly they just banned those 3000 players for 72 hours. Still, permabanning a player from playing a game he bought is pretty god damn disgusting. I could understand if it was for hacking or something like that, but when it comes to bug exploits, the devs are to blame for letting it happen in the first place.[/QUOTE] I agree. The only reason you could perma ban someone for(If they bought something of course) would be hacking. Otherwise, when you buy something, you also, at least in my opinion, buy protection from being banned. Sadly, most devs or shops don't see it this way.

[QUOTE=Corewarp3;37480361]I agree. The only reason you could perma ban someone for(If they bought something of course) would be hacking. Otherwise, when you buy something, you also, at least in my opinion, buy protection from being banned. Sadly, most devs or shops don't see it this way.[/QUOTE]No developer sees things that way, especially not those running a game with a massive, interconnected world. If you accidentally took advantage of it once then didn't do it again, that's understandable. Repeatedly abusing it is malicious.

Why do I have a feeling that this will be the Tortanic Mark II? [video=youtube;OMTmBrwmjf0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMTmBrwmjf0[/video]

So they released a bugged game and banned 3,000 people for basically discovering and using a bug That's the kinda thing you just get the weapon stripped from you, maybe any levels undone or something

[QUOTE=Xyrec;37480382]Why do I have a feeling that this will be the Tortanic Mark II?[/QUOTE] Ok and why is that

[QUOTE=Xyrec;37480382]Why do I have a feeling that this will be the Tortanic Mark II?[/QUOTE] A bug was exploited and the players were banned for it, the bug was fixed. GAME FAILED, GO HOME EVERYBODY, THAT'S IT. OH WELL, TRY AGAIN NEXT TIME.

[QUOTE=FlashFireSix;37480389]So they released a bugged game and banned 3,000 people for basically discovering and using a bug That's the kinda thing you just get the weapon stripped from you, maybe any levels undone or something[/QUOTE] pretty much this it's a pretty shitty thing to ban people from a game that they [I]just[/I] paid $50 for because they were exploiting a problem with YOUR game. fix the problem, take away all their money etc. but perma-banning them is just fucked

I say, fucking deserved. Not in permanent ban, I am talking about 72 hour suspension. If I were them, I'd also wipe all their possessions on their characters, so they should know better to abuse exploits in A MMO game next time better.

Is this worth getting? Agrees/disagrees will do. I played the first one for a few months, got quite bored. I've tried other MMO's and can never really get sucked in. Not sure whether to give this one a go or not.

3000 people got a 72 hour suspension for breaking the game. i dont see the problem here, they knew very well what would happen.

[QUOTE=KaIibos;37480429]pretty much this it's a pretty shitty thing to ban people from a game that they [I]just[/I] paid $50 for because they were exploiting a problem with YOUR game. fix the problem, take away all their money etc. but perma-banning them is just fucked[/QUOTE] They weren't permabanned - the bans were replaced with 72-hour suspensions. At any rate these people weren't banned for just trying a bug, they were banned for exploiting it. In an MMO - a game that separates itself from normal RPGs by way of player interaction - an exploit such as this can seriously screw over the economy and doesn't just impact the player who exploited, but people around him as well. The bans were justified and those who exploited the bug should have known better.

[QUOTE=Doctor Zedacon;37480358]Just because there is a bug doesn't mean you are free to abuse it all day long. I guarantee that if someone found a bug in Garry's Mod or TF2 and were abusing it in such a way, they'd do the same thing.[/QUOTE] Well, it did happen in TF2, that idle program that let you drop stuff without the game launched. Valve stripped the items from players who used it and gave a hat to players who didn't.

[QUOTE=KaIibos;37480429]pretty much this it's a pretty shitty thing to ban people from a game that they [I]just[/I] paid $50 for because they were exploiting a problem with YOUR game. fix the problem, take away all their money etc. but perma-banning them is just fucked[/QUOTE] They banned them not for exploiting the game. They banned them for repeatedly exploiting the game over and over again to gain an advantage over all other players. Not to mention the glitch that gave them real money for peppers through a karma exploit. It's one thing to do something you're not supposed to. It's another to do it all the time for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the game.

[quote]Some more info about the bans from the GW2 Twitter: Let me assure you: All the people we banned were fully aware of it being an exploit. If you bought a few weapons - you were not banned. If you massively exploited it - you were. If you bought 50 you are not permanently banned. MK[/quote] Alright, this clears it up for me. They only banned the serious offenders

You guys make it sound like games don't usually have bugs on release. The best way to find bugs quickly is to release the game and let everyone play, it's not feasible to test for ridiculously long periods of time. Overall the release of GW2 has been pretty smooth compared to most MMO's getting this many players.

[QUOTE=Jurikuer;37480463]They banned them not for exploiting the game. They banned them for repeatedly exploiting the game over and over again to gain an advantage over all other players. Not to mention the glitch that gave them real money for peppers through a karma exploit. It's one thing to do something you're not supposed to. It's another to do it all the time for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the game.[/QUOTE] Valve treat things like this right, players using a third part Idling program to contact valve servers and idle for hats/weapons that COULD be sold for IRL money So what do valve do? ban them? No they just remove the weapons and hats and reward players who didn't use the program with a halo themed hat That's the right way to deal with something like this, not permabanning people who bought your expensive game a few days after release for a bug you should of noticed yourself (I know it's being talked about changing to a temp. ban but my point still stands)

Exploiting bugs was so much fun in World of Warcraft. Glad I didn't get banned, although a Gamemaster gave me a chat, and a "Warning"

[QUOTE=FlashFireSix;37480511]Valve treat things like this right, players using a third part Idling program to contact valve servers and idle for hats/weapons that COULD be sold for IRL money So what do valve do? ban them? No they just remove the weapons and hats and reward players who didn't use the program with a halo themed hat That's the right way to deal with something like this, not permabanning people who bought your expensive game a few days after release for a bug you should of noticed yourself (I know it's being talked about changing to a temp. ban but my point still stands)[/QUOTE] except you can't compare how TF2 was handled to an MMO seeing as you know, half of MMOs is the economy (TF2 Economy is incomparable to an MMO's economy)

[QUOTE] We said in our 8.9/10 Guild Wars 2 review: "An entertaining MMO that combats the dreaded grind with smart design. The lack of a monthly subscription fee only sweetens the deal."[/QUOTE] I might have missed something, and if I did someone please fill me in, but the one beta weekend I got to try there was plenty of grind. The quests were neat in that they were just areas that you went to and events started but the events themselves were typically "Kill enough spiders to fill up this bar" or "Bring me enough apples to fill up this bar". The game felt alright, and I'd like to buy it on sale someday, but 8.9/10? Is this only the starting areas (I got to level 20) or is it another case of marketing hype?

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;37480513]Exploiting bugs was so much fun in World of Warcraft. Glad I didn't get banned, although a Gamemaster gave me a chat, and a "Warning"[/QUOTE] I loved getting into places like Caverns of Time, Hyjal, and Old Ironforge before they were released.

[QUOTE=No Party Hats;37480526]except you can't compare how TF2 was handled to an MMO seeing as you know, half of MMOs is the economy (TF2 Economy is incomparable to an MMO's economy)[/QUOTE] My point was just remove the weapons, revert the "economy" back to the way it was